Melissa Brunning is thankful to be alive after a terrifying experience in the remote Kimberley region, some 1,553 miles north of Perth in Australia.
Brunning, 34, tried to hand feel up to four tawny nurse sharks swimming around her boat, until one shark, measuring 6.6ft, got a hold of her right index finger and pulled her into the water in Dugong Bay where not only sharks roam, but also saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 23ft in length.
“I think the shark was in shock as much as I was… the only way I can describe it is this immense pressure and it felt like it was shredding it off the bone,” she told The West Australian.
“I came up and I was like, ‘I’ve lost my finger, my finger’s gone’.”
Brunning did not lose the finger and miraculously only sustained cuts, a fracture, a torn ligament and a bad infection.
“It’s not the shark’s fault at all, but it could have been a lot worse” Brunning said, adding that, from now on, she will “respect marine life, and look at it in awe, but just leave them alone”.
Cell phone footage showed some of the incident that occurred last month, and you can check it out over at Sky News.
